Tibet’s struggle for autonomy in China is “one of the front lines” in America’s battle with the Chinese Communist Party, a senior State Department official said at a Tibetan New Year celebration.
Albert Gombis, the acting under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, made the remark at an event marking Losar, or Tibetan New Year, at the State Department on Tuesday.
Gombis told the gathering that U.S. national security was “inextricably bound to the battle of ideas and influence” with Beijing, which annexed Tibet in the early 1950s and has since governed the territory with an oppressively heavy-hand while seeking to erase Tibetan culture.
“The decades-long struggle for Tibet’s autonomy is important not only to the six million Tibetans in China and the many tens of thousands in the Tibetan diaspora; their struggle constitutes one of the front lines in the global effort for freedom from the Chinese Communist Party’s repression,” Gombis said, calling for a renewed American focus on Tibet.
“The CCP’s efforts to erase Tibetan identity and militarize the Himalayas reverberate across the region and threaten the safety of U.S. partners and the Indo-Pacific more broadly,” he added.
Beijing denies it represses Tibet or seeks to erase its cultural traditions, instead pointing to economic development in the region as evidence of its positive impacts on the population of about 6 million Tibetans.
Losar celebrations
Tibetans around the world held subdued celebrations this Losar – or Tibetan Wood Snake Year, which began Feb. 28 – due to the earthquake that struck Tibet in January and the death of Gyalo Thondup, the elder brother of the Dalai Lama, in February.
The annual U.S. State Department gathering held Tuesday was the 11th such event organized by the department since the Tibetan New Year was first celebrated at its headquarters in February 2015. It was also the first held since the new Trump administration returned to office.
It was a largely somber observance of the new year, with religious rituals by Tibetan Buddhist monks and participation of young Tibetan Americans explaining the significance of the Losar traditions.
Last week, in what was the new U.S. administration’s first remarks on U.S. policy on Tibet, a State Department spokesperson told RFA Tibetan that the Trump administration will continue to call on China to return to direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives.
“We will also continue to call on China to cease its interference in the succession of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist lamas and to respect the freedom of religion or belief of individuals of all faiths,” the spokesperson said, noting long-running bipartisan support for Tibet.
China invaded far-western Tibet in 1950 and has controlled the territory ever since. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India amid a large-scale Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in March 1959.
Since then, Beijing has sought to legitimize Chinese rule through the suppression of dissent and policies undermining Tibetan culture and language. More recently, China has also sought to control the reincarnation process of Tibetan religious leaders in an attempt to interfere in the selection of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation.
At Tuesday’s event, Gombis said Tibet should not be forgotten as the United States tries to counter Chinese expansion in other areas, such as its expansionist claims on the South China Sea and Taiwan.
China’s Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism, including its interference in the Dalai Lama’s succession process, he said, mirrors its “larger efforts to co-opt other religious traditions,” both within China and elsewhere.
“We must challenge the CCP’s brazen efforts to undermine the ideals that are a key source of our strength and identity as a nation,” he said.
Additional reporting by Tenzin Dickyi and Passang Dhonden. Edited by Tenzin Pema and Alex Willemyns.